Sunday, April 12, 2015

Williamsburg One

-->
Our first day in Williamsburg was spent, of
course, at the colonial village. We were last her just less than thirty-two
years ago and conisderable has changed. It goes without saying that the whole
operation is slicker today than it was then, but there have been other changes,
the most notable being the incorporation of non-white, non-planter narratives.

We started out walking the one third mile trail from the
slick new visitor center to the village. That took us past the Great Hopes
plantation, which was a plantation in the 17th century sense of the
word, a farm, not the great manors we think of today. In 1982 we were
privileged to see a play put on by African-American interpreters who were
struggling to make sense of their experience in Williamsburg, today
African-Americans (40%) of the colony’s population, are a vital part of the
story.

The history of Williamsburg’s recreation is fascinating and
is not really our topic here. But what particularly captured our attention was
Wetherburn’s Tavern, which is not a recreation, but the original building from
the 1730s. My photos do not do it justice, none could I think, but to tread the
original boards where Washington, Jefferson and even Franklin stood on. To see
the walls, was a highlight.

And, of course, I had fun playing with the camera and even
managed, I think, to capture a few decent images.